"This ...... What happened? ”

Chen Tao stood at the entrance of Uncle Long's shop, even if it was the off-season, Uncle Long would not close the door of the shop in normal times.

Now that the whole store is on top of it, it is tightly blocked, and something must have happened inside.

It's not a strange thing that the shops are not open, there are so many shops on the old street, and people passing by don't care at all.

Chen Tao looked left and right, walked to the front of the store, raised his hand and knocked twice on the third fast partition, and then twice on the ninth fastest partition. After a pause, he knocked four times on the third allegro, and then ran to the tenth partition and knocked twice.

Each line has its own doorway, and in the same way, each family has its own rules. Those who are engaged in the antique goods business will inevitably have some shady places.

Although the Chen family has long been whitewashed and has its own business on the surface, it still has its own underground market.

To this end, the Chen family created a set of communication codes that are unique to the family, and convey information to their own people through sound.

The reason why I chose sound is because in the underground tombs, in different positions, in addition to signs, sound is the best medium for transmitting information.

This code language system is extremely complex, and the sentences used are different in different situations. Unless the Chen family explains it to you word by word, outsiders will never understand.

These things were taught by his grandfather when he was a child, and in addition to teaching him a lot of fist and foot kung fu, but later he was busy with his studies, although he occasionally exercised, but he was still a lot worse.

Careful people can find that all the shops of the Chen family have ten outer partitions, the same wood, the same size, the same color, and the same sound.

What Chen Tao expressed just now meant: "Open the door, I am Chen Tao." ”

After a while, there was a soft sound behind the first partition, and the people inside opened the door, Chen Tao looked left and right, and got into it sideways.

"Little boss, why are you here?"

As soon as he entered the door, Chen Tao, who was choking on the smell of smoke, almost vomited. At this time, there were more than a dozen people standing behind the door.

The person who spoke, Chen Tao, knew him, but he didn't know his name, but he knew that everyone called him Scar Five, and he was the pillar of Uncle Long's handicap.

It is said that this man followed Uncle Long down the cave and blocked one of the claws of the salted fish for Uncle Long, and he did not die, but he left five long scars on the side of his face.

Scar Wu is a flexible person, and he can't find fault with his work, Uncle Long appreciates him very much, and makes him go from a small minion in the handicap to today's status.

Uncle Long opened a mountain in Jiangsu, and he had five handicaps, scattered in various boundaries of Jiangsu. Each handicap is guarded by a pillar, and the largest handicap in Suzhou is directly governed by Uncle Long and is his base camp.

(Kaishan Liku, also known as Anjiao, in the vernacular, means to have established its own power somewhere.) As the jargon goes, "There are drawers in the cabinet, and the cellar needs to be topped with beams." "The drawers and cellars speak of the territory, and the pillars refer to the persons in charge of the various markets. ）

"Uncle Scar, I have something to do with Uncle Long, what's going on? Why are so many people here today? ”

Scar Wu pulled Chen Tao aside and whispered: "This matter, Master Long didn't let us make a noise, because it was you and I who said it."

"A few days ago, the brothers sent by Master Long to Shanxi to step on the plate disappeared!"

(Stepping on a plate, also known as touching a plate, means to step on a certain place in black words.) The difference is that touching the plate is just scouting, asking around to collect information. In addition to the above actions, if you find something too late to report, you can act on the opportunity, even if you go directly into the hole. ）

"What?" Chen Tao was a little surprised, and secretly thought in his heart that Uncle Long, this old boy, was really not idle, and he disappeared for so long, and he secretly sent someone back to Shanxi!

"That'...... What's going on now? ”

"Master Long came back today, his face was very ugly, and he summoned a few of us to be here, I'm afraid something big will happen......" Scar Wu said in a low voice.

"What about the others?"

Scar Five raised his head, and his eyes swept to the inner hall behind the pavement, "They are in there with the mountain ghosts, and I don't know what they are discussing." ”

The mountain ghost is Uncle Long's henchman, and he is his most powerful right and left hand, and when Uncle Long is away, all kinds of complicated matters in the big market are managed by the mountain ghost.

Chen Tao frowned, and was hesitating to go in and have a look, when he heard a knock on the door inside, and Uncle Long led the mountain ghost and a few other pillars out.

"Why are you here?" As soon as Uncle Long went out, he saw Chen Tao behind the crowd, and couldn't help frowning and asking.

"Uh...... Uncle...... I have something to tell you. ”

Looking at the unusually Uncle Long, Chen Tao was a little nervous. In the current scene, he naturally understands that in front of so many pillars, Uncle Long, as their boss, naturally can't lose his identity.

"Now is not the time, you go home first, if there is anything, talk about it in the evening."

"Well, that's ......"

Coming out of the back door of the shop, smelling the fresh air outside, Chen Tao slowly breathed a sigh of relief, he was really depressed just now.

Don't look at Uncle Long, who usually looks like he is not big or young, old and not serious in front of him, but in front of his subordinates, it is like a different person, and the powerful aura overwhelms everyone present.

It was getting late, and he didn't dare to go back to his shop, so he wrapped his clothes tightly and walked straight towards Uncle Long's house. For more than half a year after coming to Suzhou, he has been living in Uncle Long's house.

What's going on?

Lying crooked on the sofa, thinking about everything he had experienced today, Chen Tao felt that his brain was not enough.

First he was followed, and now a few guys sent out by Uncle Long are also missing, what is going on behind all this?

Don't......

Chen Tao was suddenly startled, sat up suddenly, and a thought flashed through his mind,

"Is it the bronze man?"

Thinking of all the things that have happened since he received the bronze man, Chen Tao faintly felt in his heart that this matter was not so simple.

If his guess is correct, Uncle Long sent someone back to Shanxi to step on the plate, and nine times out of ten he found something from that bronze man.

"Damn, no wonder he kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything when he asked!"

Chen Tao was a little depressed, the bronze man was now in Uncle Long's hands, even if he wanted to find clues, he couldn't do anything.

It's not been a day or two since he came into contact with Uncle Long's underground business, and although Uncle Long never let him interfere, he is not a fool. The guy who sent out said that he was missing, and nine times out of ten he was planted in a hole, which is several lives!

At dinner, Uncle Long came back with two bags of vegetables, his face was calm and waveless, and he completely lost the gloomy and serious and suffocating aura in the shop before.

"Uncle, you're back, what's going on?"

As soon as Uncle Long entered the door, Chen Tao couldn't wait to entangle him. After an afternoon, he desperately needed an answer.

Uncle Long glanced at Chen Tao lightly, lifted the plastic packing box on the handle and said:

"I'll talk about it later, let's eat first."

There is something in his heart, where can Chen Tao eat, and the food is like chewing wax in his mouth. Looking at Uncle Long's no-nonsense look, if you think that this matter has passed, it is very wrong!

Uncle Long has gone from nothing to today, relying on himself. Although there is nothing on his face, Chen Tao grew up with Uncle Long from childhood to adulthood, others don't know, isn't he clear? The more flat Uncle Long's face is, the more serious the matter becomes, and it has even reached an uncontrollable situation.

After chewing a few bites of rice dryly, Chen Tao couldn't help it after all.

"Oh, Uncle Long, tell me, what's wrong?"

Uncle Long took a bite of the dish indifferently, and said without hurry:

"What are you doing in my shop today?"

As soon as Uncle Long mentioned it, Chen Tao came back to his senses, how could he forget about that incident, and immediately put down the dishes and chopsticks and said.

"I was stalked today."

"What?" Uncle Long's hand shook and looked at Chen Tao with a frown.

"What's going on, you tell me clearly."

Looking at Uncle Long, who suddenly changed color, Chen Tao also knew the seriousness of the matter, and immediately told him about being followed and blocked by those people all the way in the morning.

Of course, Chen Tao selectively avoided a disgusting chicken nest and what he did to himself extremely obscene and ashamed.

"TMD, these eight lambs, are really getting fatter and fatter!"

Uncle Long put down the dishes and chopsticks heavily, and said after a while: "After eating, you buy two tickets to the ancient city, clean up tomorrow, and follow me."

"Ah...... Yes? Walk? Where are you going? Chen Tao didn't react a little.

"Go home!"

Uncle Long stopped making a noise, picked up the chopsticks and took two bites of rice.

Uncle Long said that he was going home, he was going back to his hometown in Shanxi, where was the Chen family's big shop. Since the matter is in Shanxi, then the answer must be there.

After eating, Chen Tao sent a text message to Ah Jun, asking him to buy some pastries from Suzhou tomorrow morning and bring them over, and buy two tickets back to the ancient city by the way. The next day, Chen Tao and Uncle Long got on the train to Shanxi, and they didn't say anything all the way, and when they arrived at their hometown Gucheng, it was already the afternoon of the third day.

It was Fa Xiao Li Hao who came to pick them up. Although the two were not able to go to school together later, the connection was still not broken.

"Haozi, I haven't seen you for more than a year, and you're dark again!" Chen Tao greeted Li Hao with a smile.

"you, what's wrong with the black? It's like you, a college student, sitting in the office every day that the wind can't blow and the rain can't get wet. Li Hao glanced at Chen Tao, hammered Chen Tao's shoulder with a smile, and then looked at Uncle Long.

"Hello Uncle Long."

Haozi's attitude was very respectful, Chen Tao looked a little inexplicable, and said in his heart, when did this kid respect Uncle Long so much?

Uncle Long nodded, and Haozi quickly took the luggage from Uncle Long's hand.

"Let's go, the car is in front, the family has already cooked food, and my grandfather has been urging me for a long time."

"Is Elder Li okay?"

Uncle Long lit a cigarette and took out another one and threw it to Haozi. Chen Tao doesn't know how to smoke, so Uncle Long doesn't care about him.

"Eun, you're in good spirits! It's okay and I often talk to you, but today I heard that you are coming back and took out all the old wine from the jar! ”

"You mean the wine?" Uncle Long's eyes lit up.

"That's right, Uncle Long! The jars that Grandpa Chen brewed before! Usually my grandfather is a baby, and he won't let me touch it! ”

"Let's go home and eat!"

The car went all the way into the ancient city, drove to the backyard of Li Lao's woodware shop, and got out of the car to find that there were many people here today. In addition to Chen Tao's aunt, other uncles, including Chen Tao's father, were waiting for them early.

The Chen and Li families are more world friends than world friends, and they are about to become a family. Li Lao has no children, only Haozi and a grandson. Before Grandpa Chen Tao died, he left his last words to take good care of Li Lao.

Chen Tao and the others haven't been back for half a year, and when relatives and friends get together, it is naturally very lively, staggered, and happy.

At night, Chen Tao lay alone in his room, his brows twisted.

"Kurokogou...... Where exactly has this place been seen? ”

I thought that Uncle Long would immediately make a big move when he came back, but he didn't do anything except eat and drink.

Looking at the drunken Uncle Long, Chen Tao was really uncomfortable.

"Looks like I'm on my own...... Well? A thought flashed through his mind, and he almost fell out of bed.

Nima...... No way? Chen Tao sat up from the head of the bed like crazy, grabbed a coat and rushed out of the room.

The bright moon hangs high, and although it is still summer, it does not have the sultry heat of the south. A yin wind blew against his neck, and Chen Tao was thrilled. Looking at the locked gate in front of me, my heart was pounding.

"That...... Grandpa, I'll come in and take a look, your grandson and I'm timid, don't scare me......"

The small courtyard in front of him is the residence of Chen Tao's grandfather before his death. After my grandfather died, no one came to this small courtyard again. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva fiercely, Chen Tao gritted his teeth and opened the iron lock.

The key was secretly given to him by his grandfather before he died, and he didn't tell anyone about it.

Squeak......

The iron door shook a few times, making a sharp grinding sound, and the insects around it stopped instantly.

Chen Tao walked in boldly, and there were already a lot of weeds growing in the yard. The flashlight flashed past, and a few flying insects could be seen jumping around.

"It's a little scary to come to this place in the middle of the night......

Turning around and pulling the door lock, Chen Tao stepped on the blades of grass and walked towards the back room.

The house is still the same, looking at the familiar furnishings around him, Chen Tao can't help but feel a little nostalgic for the time when he hid in his grandfather's arms and listened to him tell ghost stories when he was a child.

It has been uninhabited for a long time, and the furniture has been covered with dust. Chen Tao walked to a large old-fashioned wooden cabinet, opened the door, and pulled out a palm-sized metal locket from a small hidden compartment.

This is a relic left to him by his grandfather.

The box as a whole is in the shape of a lying beast, and the whole body is engraved with strange lines, although it is not exquisite, but it is very old, and it is not a vulgar thing at first glance.

At one end of the box is carved a beast's head, with pointed ears and long gills, fangs turned out, very abstract, and under the beast's head are two forelimbs, connected as one.

At the other end of the box are the hind limbs and tail, which also cling to the walls of the box, and the end of the extension is toothed.

The back of the box is movable and can be pushed open, and things can be stored inside.

On the night of his grandfather's death, in addition to the key to the courtyard, he also told Chen Tao the secret, but he was still young at the time and didn't understand what the thing in the box was......

Thinking of this, Chen Tao couldn't help but feel a little chilled, and goosebumps got on his body.

Pulling open the lid of the beast box, there was a strange map inside, and I couldn't tell where it was. In addition, there is a letter written by the author without a signature, only written by Chen Tao himself.

Looking at those words, although the seal paper was yellow, he could still recognize it, it was his own handwriting.

"It's been eight years, but I didn't expect that I really wrote the same handwriting as on the letter......"

He opened the envelope tremblingly, and pulled out the bloodstained piece of paper from inside:

Hello Chen Tao, it's October 28, 1994, I'm in an ancient ruin, and all of our people are dead.

Half a year ago, I made a mistake that cost everyone, including myself, for this mistake.

Originally, there was still a chance to save everything, but now I have no way to stop them, and the only thing I can do now is to call for help.

What I'm going to talk about next, you may think I'm crazy, but soon, you're going to be caught up in it, and your world is going to be turned upside down!

I can't tell you the whole story, it's all up to you! If you don't want the Chen family to be destroyed, you must follow Uncle Long! Follow him to Heizigou and go to that tomb!

No matter what the cost, you must find it, it is our only hope.

As for what it is, you'll know.

In ten minutes, you will be born, and it's a shame that I can't witness this miraculous moment with my own eyes, they have come!

Oh, who am I?

You'll know when that day comes.

I'm waiting for you!